


A Flight To Remember

by mithrilstarlight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, cutsey fluff with bonus child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5900818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrilstarlight/pseuds/mithrilstarlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Willas finds himself seated next to a little kid on his flight and takes it upon himself to entertain her while Sansa naps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU prompt I pulled from tumblr. Honestly couldn't resist.

Willas qualified for disability status and could have, in theory, boarded the plane first. So many years after his injury, though, it just felt wrong for him to take advantage of the system like that when he was very much capable of boarding alongside everyone else. His leg was fine for now, although after a few hours of sitting in a small seat would require him to use the cane upon disembarking. He looked up as his group was called over the loudspeaker. Adjusting his bag and picking up his cane as though it were a baton, he strode through the gate and boarded the large aircraft.

His seat was on the aisle in the center column of seats. He took a moment to remove a book from his bag and then stuff the leather sack into the overhead compartment. Then came the task of situating himself in the seat so as to minimize post-flight stiffness in his knee. It was a delicate task early after the surgeries, but nowadays maneuvering these small spaces had become like second nature to him. It didn’t help that his job sent him flying several times a year. He buckled up the restraint and cracked open the book. Crossing fingers, the three hour flight wouldn’t feel too long.

About two minutes later, a little girl with bright red hair, green eyes, and a face dotted with freckles crawled into the seat next to him, followed by a woman with the same red hair, but brilliant blue eyes in the aisle seat just beyond. He figured he could safely assume that the woman was the little girl’s mother. He smiled, nodded at the girl, who he figured couldn’t be more than five or six years of age, and then did the same to her mother.

“Lyanna, please sit down. Give me your backpack, sweetie. Yes, thank you. Now buckle in, we’re going to take off soon.” The woman was fussing over the little girl, trying to get her to sit still while simultaneously stowing their bags and getting herself situated before the anyone got too upset that they were holding up the queue. While the woman was breathlessly double-checking everything and digging through her bag for something to entertain her daughter, Willas took it upon himself to be the person who didn’t hate kids on a plane. He snapped his book shut and looked down at the little girl.

“Is it your first time flying?” He asked with a smile. The little girl, Lyanna, shook her head excitedly.

“No, I fly a lot,” she said with a smile.

“Oh really? What’s your favorite part? Taking off or landing?”

“I really like-“ Lyanna only got partway through her answer before her mother stepped in.

“Lyanna, please don’t bother the nice man. Do you want to watch a movie?” The mother seemed almost desperate to distract her child and handed the little girl a tablet with the latest animated movie queued up to play. Lyanna didn’t seem very happy about being cut off, but didn’t argue and willingly put in the headphones. Something told Willas that the little girl was right when she said they flew a lot.

“Sorry about that, sir. I hope you don’t mind, she’s a bit talkative until I get her settled down with a movie.”

“Willas,” he said with a smile, reaching across to shake the woman’s hand.

“Sansa. Nice to meet you. Please let me know if she’s bothering you,” Sansa said. Willas had half a mind to argue that he loved kids and would be thrilled to entertain her for an hour or two of the flight, but decided to hold his tongue and simply nod before returning to his book.

* * *

Two hours later, he was several chapters into his book and much of the cabin was quietly napping or reading or doing whatever else would pass the time as quickly as possible. He glanced over at Lyanna and watched her mindlessly stare as the credits rolled on her movie. The kid was obviously bored, and Sansa had fallen asleep a half hour previously. Something told him Lyanna wouldn’t dare wake her mother up. He closed his book again and glanced over at the girl. She looked up at him, as though she had somehow known that he was watching her, pulled out her headphones, and stuck out her tongue. He made a dramatic gesture of horror in return, which earned him a quiet giggle in return. He followed it up by sticking out his own tongue and proceeding to touch his nose with it. The little girl’s eye’s widened and she stuck her tongue out as far as she could, desperately trying to recreate the wonder she had just seen Willas perform. It was, unfortunately, to no avail.

Their shenanigans continued quietly for the next few minutes. Willas wanted to be careful so as not to wake up Sansa. It wasn’t that he thought she’d be upset at him entertaining her daughter, but the woman looked like she could sleep for a week and still be exhausted. Eventually, though, he ran out of silly faces to make and started up their conversation again.

“I do believe you still haven’t told me what your favorite part about airplanes is,” he said with a comedically thoughtful face.

“I like when we land,” Lyanna said quietly. Willas raised a brow.

“Oh do you now? Why is that?”

“Flying is scary. I want to be on the ground again.” Lyanna seemed to speak very nonchalantly about her fear. It intrigued Willas.

“For someone who is scared of flying, you’re handling it quite well. You must have plenty of practice, brave little one.” She wasn’t he only one who had practice. It had been months since he had last seen his brother’s children. The twins were hellish to deal with for Garlan and Leonette, but Willas had filled the role of entertaining uncle quite naturally. He didn’t get to interact with children much outside of that, despite his adoration for them.

“I do,” Lyanna nodded and continued. “Mommy and I fly to see Aunt Arya a lot.”

“Ah, I see. Is that who you were visiting in Braavos?” Willas didn’t want to pry, but Lyanna also seemed like she was itching to talk.

“Mhm. Aunt Arya lives there. We’re staying with Uncle Robb in King’s Landing now. Then we go back Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Winterfell.” Lyanna was grinning, proud of her worldly travels. Willas softened his smile, wondering in the back of his mind why they were doing so much traveling. Nor did she say the word ‘home’ in any of her descriptions. It wasn’t his place to ask, especially to the child, but he had to wonder.

“What a far-flung family, you have! Is your father back at Winterfell, too?” That seemed to be a difficult question, because Lyanna’s smile faded. He felt bad for asking it.

“I don’t have a father. We live with Grandma and Grandpa.” Willas nodded thoughtfully and left it at that. Lyanna turned back to her tablet and picked a new movie to start. This new information left several thoughts circling his brain. He glanced over at Sansa and wondered why on earth she was a single mother dragging her daughter halfway across the world so often. Mostly his brain wondered what could’ve possibly resulted in her being a single mother. He mentally kicked himself, because it really wasn’t his place to even be considering the personal details of the stranger sitting across from him on the plane. But Lyanna was just one of those kids that made Willas’s heart ache for the day he’d get his own family.

Shortly after ending the conversation with Lyanna, the stewardess began to make her rounds to collect trash before the landing procedure began. The woman made her way down the aisle and to his row. He politely held out his trash for the woman.

“Could you pass me your daughter’s trash, too?” the woman said. Willas was taken aback at first. This woman thought he and Sansa were married? Well, it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility, given the way he had been behaving with the little girl.

“She’s not my daughter, but you can still have her trash,” he said with a laugh. The stewardess replied with a quick apology and then moved on. He looked down at Lyanna and shrugged. The little girl had heard the entire thing.

“Well, that was interesting, don’t you think?” Willas said with a sigh. Lyanna nodded.

“You’d be a funny daddy.” Something in Willas’s gut warmed at the thought of a kid approving of his antics. He stuck out his tongue again, eliciting a new round of laughter from the girl. This time, it woke Sansa up. The woman jumped slightly and looked around. She spotted Lyanna making wild faces at Willas and jumped in to end the silliness.

“Lyanna, I told you not to bother the man. We’re almost there, please just behave for a few more minutes.” Sansa’s speech was jumbled, but firm as she pulled herself out of the nap.

“But he started it,” Lyanna protested. Sansa gave her daughter a stern look, and Willas figured he could make a better case than the child.

“I did make the first face, I admit,” he said. Looking down at Lyanna, he gave a smile. “Although you have to admit, the stewardess did start it.” Sansa’s face scrunched in confusion.

“The stewardess?” Lyanna turned back around to face her mother.

“Yeah. The lady thought Willas was my daddy. It was really funny.” Sansa wasn’t sure how to react at her daughter’s tale.

“It’s true. I’ve been keeping Lyanna entertained while you slept. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let you nap and, well, who can turn down entertainment like this?” He again made a face at Lyanna and more giggles ensued, even from Sansa.

“Well, thank you, I guess. Lyanna, do you want to use the restroom before we land or after?” Sansa had slipped back into her strict mothering voice, so it seemed. Lyanna wasn’t fazed.

“No, I’m okay. I’ll wait,” she said before turning back to Willas. “Why were you in Braavos? Do you have family there, too?” Willas laughed and shook his head.

“I am not as lucky as you, I’m afraid. I was there for my job. I do a lot of flying for my job.” He flashed a small smile to Sansa, who was now also paying attention.

“What is it that you do?” she asked.

“I’m the CFO for my father’s company. I fly back and forth between Highgarden and Braavos frequently to deal with the Iron Bank. We have some investments through them and, unfortunately, such things require my presence more than I’d like. And yourself?” Willas figured that, at least while they landed, he’d actually talk to the mother.

“I’m currently between jobs. I don’t know how much Lyanna told you,” she paused to shoot a stern glance at her daughter, “but we live with my parents in Winterfell."

“I’ll be up there in a few weeks, actually. There’s a fundraiser my company is helping to organize and, again, my job requires that I do these things in person.” Willas tried to not sound too bitter about his work. The safety lights went off and the passengers around them started shifting and standing up.

“It was very nice to meet you, Mr., um…” Sansa began, holding out her hand again.

“Tyrell. Willas Tyrell,” he replied, taking her hand with a smile.

“Sansa Stark.” Willas hid his surprise well, he thought, and was puzzled as to why he hadn’t put two and two together earlier.

“Very nice to meet you,” he said, trailing off a bit before looking down at Lyanna. “And it was absolutely wonderful to meet you, too!” He reached over and tapped the little girl’s nose before winking and beginning the process of extracting himself from the seat. Three hours wasn’t too long, but the stiffness hand already built up.

* * *

Willas took his time exiting the plane, only to find Sansa and Lyanna standing outside of the gate. He watched carefully as Sansa approached him.

“I didn’t want to hold people up on the plane, but Lyanna also wanted to say goodbye to you ‘properly.’” Sansa reddened just a shade, and Willas knew that wasn’t the only reason she had waited. Nevertheless, he did his best to crouch down to the little girl’s level and say his farewells. He stood back up and paused, waiting for Sansa to continue whatever it was she had waiting on the tip of her tongue. “I also wondered if you wanted my number. Next time you’re in Winterfell you could give me a call and we can get dinner or something. As a thank you, of course, for taking care of Lyanna.”

“Absolutely,” Willas said with a smile. “It really was no problem. I loved it.” He held out his phone and let her type in her number.

“Thank you, again,” she said. There was a lingering pause where he wasn’t quite sure of she what was going on in her head, but it was something he didn’t want to blink and miss. Sadly, she broke their mutual gaze and ushered Lyanna to pick up her bag so that they could go meet Uncle Robb. The little girl waved goodbye and skipped off down the hallway towards the exit. Willas sighed and began in the opposite direction to catch his train to Highgarden. He didn’t get more than a few steps before he pulled out his phone and texted Margaery, asking how long he was supposed to wait before sending a text to Sansa. Satisfied smile on his face, and already dreaming up excuses for his father to send him to Winterfell, Willas strode off through the crowd of busy travelers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back by popular request!

Willas loathed that he had to take a plane up to Winterfell rather than use the train. But, it was a significant difference in travel time. Four hours versus twelve hours was enough for Marg to beat him with a stick until he bought the plane ticket. He wasn’t biased or anything, but trains were just so much more comfortable and roomy. He could get up and walk around to stretch his leg.

However he was getting there, Willas was more focused on the five days he was actually going to spend in the city. He had a fundraiser, sure, but more importantly Sansa was there, too. He had waited a couple of days before texting her, and they hadn’t stopped since. Well, hadn’t stopped in the way that a busy single mother who is trying to keep her daughter occupied while on vacation could manage.

He started casually, asking that she say hello to Lyanna for him. And when Sansa said that they were headed back up North, he send his well-wishes to the little girl for her flight. According to Sansa, Lyanna had complained almost the entire time about not having a flying buddy like Willas to keep her company. It warmed his heart to know that he had made a good impression on the girl.

As he limped his way through the terminal, he begged for the relief of a bed. Just for a couple of hours until he could stretch everything out. The fundraiser was tomorrow night, and he had reserved the extra time as “vacation.” In reality, he wasn’t sure what night Sansa would be free for dinner and wanted some options. He also hadn’t been up north in a while and wanted to do a little bit of sightseeing outside of Winterfell while he had the chance. Vacations didn’t come along very often.

* * *

Room service dinner came and he fell asleep watching TV that night. The next day was a lot of sitting in meetings and preparing for the event. He went back to the hotel and donned his suit. Well, the nicer suit that he wore to things like this. Willas was never one for the full tuxedo like his father. But at least it was all black and white this time. Grandmother had given him grief for a month after he wore a bright blue tie to a similar event out in Oldtown one year.

He took the elevator down to the banquet hall. The perks of organizing the event was that he didn’t have to go very far to attend. After some meeting and greeting, he stepped out into the hallway to rehearse his speech a bit. It was a short little thing, only a couple of minutes long. But he wanted to make a good impression, because of course Grandmother would hear about it if he didn’t. These people were supposed to be giving their money, after all.

“Willas?”

He jumped, jerking his head up from the little notecards he had in his hand and turning to see none other than Sansa Stark, flanked by her parents Eddard and Catelyn Stark standing in front of the entrance to the hall.

“Sansa! I didn’t think you’d be here,” he said. Tilting his head, he was at a loss for words for a moment. “I mean- you didn’t say anything about coming to this.” He then looked up from her to her parents and extended his hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Stark, wonderful to see you here tonight.”

Sansa waved her parents on and then stepped aside, taking hold of Willas’s elbow as she led him away from the door. “I wasn’t planning on it, actually. I didn’t realize that my parents were coming to this until they said so this morning and one thing led to another and I’m here. They felt so bad that I’ve done nothing social for months and insisted that I have a night out.”

Willas smiled softly at her. “Well I’m glad you let them convince you,” he said. She looked at him the same way she had back in the airport weeks ago. It had to mean something. He cleared his throat, trying to pick the conversation back up. “Where is-”

“At home with Rickon,” Sansa interrupted. “There’s obviously a strict no-children policy at something like this and, well, Lyanna loves her Uncle Rickon.”

Willas bowed his head and chuckled at the mental image of Lyanna running around a house, giving her uncle grief all evening. She seemed like the type to do that when her mother wasn’t around. “Sounds about right,” he said. He stuffed the cue cards back into his jacket pocket and then held out his arm. “Since we’re here, would you join me for a drink? I know it’s not the dinner I promised, but it’s a start.”

“Gladly,” Sansa said, taking his arm and walking into the banquet hall at his side. They made the rounds, chatting and socializing as one did at functions like this. About a half an hour into the affair, Willas was called up on stage to give his speech. Short and sweet, just as he liked. He rejoined Sansa and, after downing another glass of champagne (as one was wont to do at such events), he figured he had nothing to lose.

“Sansa, would you care to dance?” Willas held out his hand. It wasn’t out of the question by any means. Mr. and Mrs. Stark had been dancing for much of the evening. The string quartet had been doing a fine job of serenading the whole affair, but Willas was worried he’d run out of time and miss this opportunity.

Sansa hesitated for a moment before gently taking his hand. “I guess,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I’m not the world’s greatest dancer, if that’s what you’re concerned about.” Willas laughed as he pulled her in.

“No, it’s that I wasn’t expecting you to ask, that’s all,” she said.

Willas frowned. “Why would that be?”

Sansa shrugged, leaving the conversation at that. Willas bit the inside of his lip as they danced. He couldn’t just let the silence hang there.

“Your dress is very lovely. And well-restedness suits you,” he said. It elicited a smile and the hint of a laugh. But most importantly, he saw her turn a bit red in the face.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I don’t get to go out very much, I must admit. Or sleep. I’ve missed wearing gowns.”

Willas pulled her a tad closer and ducked his head just enough to whisper into her ear. “Hush now, you look absolutely gorgeous,” he said.

The music ended and they broke contact to clap and then disperse from the dance floor. Willas offered his arm up again.

“You know, Lyanna really did enjoy your antics on the plane a few weeks ago,” Sansa said. Her words sounded almost forced. Willas was concerned at first that she didn’t want to talk, but by the way she was gripping his elbow with an iron grasp, he thought better. “She really misses you.”

“Was she the only one that missed me?” he said without missing a beat. If there’s one thing Willas did know how to do, it was hit a comeback. His words seemed to shock her, though, because surprise overtook her expression, followed by another round of blush creeping up her face.

“No,” she said, looking down and doing a horrible job of hiding her smile. “I was kind of hoping that I’d get to see you again, too.”

“Well, I am in town for four more days. Plenty of time for a visit with Lyanna, I’d love to see her again.” He paused. “And, if I’m lucky, enough time for a dinner or two with you?”

“I think that can be arranged.”

* * *

Sansa and Willas were scheduled to have dinner two nights after the fundraiser. And, of course, he was to pick her up from the Stark residence. Part of this was to be cliché. Part of it was an excuse for him to see Lyanna.

He parked his car in the massive, circular driveway of the Stark mansion. It was nice to see the rich didn’t really live all that differently up here. Perhaps fewer bells and whistles, but a mansion was a mansion. He climbed out and walked up to the door, ringing the bell. The first response he heard from inside was the screaming of a little girl as she presumably hurtled towards the door.

As expected, the entrance opened to reveal the little Lyanna with the happiest grin he had ever seen on a child so small. Willas immediately crouched as much as his leg would allow and opened his arms. Lyanna wasted no time, practically leaping into his arms. He lifted her up, seating her on the hip belonging to his good leg as he entered the foyer.

“Mamma, he’s here!” Lyanna shouted. Dogs began barking, and before Willas could do anything he found himself surrounded by six dogs so massive they looked like wolves, all barking and jumping. Lyanna shrieked in laughter, seemingly unaffected by the horde of animals beneath her. Willas, however, was not as enthused.

A shrill whistle from Eddard and the dogs were seated in an instant. “Down, you damn dogs,” he muttered he walked over.

Willas held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Stark.”

“Pleasure is mine, Willas. And please, we’re colleagues. Call me Ned.” One of the dogs began aggressively sniffing up Ned’s sleeve, presumably looking for treats. “Down, Summer. Gods, I wish the children had taken these insane dogs when they moved out. But no, they all had to live in no-pets-allowed apartments, didn’t they?”

Willas bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Almost as soon as Ned was done berating one of the dogs, two more followed its lead and started sniffing around. “Oh, alright, alright! We’ll go get snacks.” Ned waved his hand and then started herding the dogs off. “It was nice to see you again, Willas,” he called back.

“Grandpa loves the dogs. Sometimes he’ll sit on the floor to read instead of in his chair so that they can all sit with him,” Lyanna said.

Willas grinned, looking at the precious little girl in his arms. Gods he would’ve loved to have a daughter like her. “My grandpa used to play with our dogs all the time. Now my dad does it, and so do I,” he replied.

“You have dogs, too?” Lyanna’s eyes lit up.

“Of course! You know, it’s part of a dad’s job to play with the dogs,” he said in a mockingly serious tone.

“You’re a dad?”

Willas did laugh this time and shook his head. He should’ve worded it differently. “No, Lyanna, I am not. Not yet, anyway.”

“Lyanna, what are you doing?” Sansa had finally made her appearance, descending with rapid speed as she rushed over to reclaim Lyanna from Willas’s arms. “I’m sorry she’s latched onto you.”

“Mamma, Willas isn’t a dad yet, but he really wants to play with dogs. Can he be my dad so that he can play with Lady and Summer and all of ours?”

The innocence of Lyanna’s request was what killed him. That, and the look of shock on Sansa’s face that, for a moment, had drained her of all her color. She looked back and forth between him and her daughter, gaping. He wanted to tell her it was alright, that he thought it was adorable, but he was too busy stifling his laughter.

Sansa, now very red in the face, looked at Willas out of the corner of her eye as she answered Lyanna. “Maybe, if he asks very, very nicely one day.” Now it was Willas’s turn to pale. It wasn’t the answer he was expecting. Sansa set Lyanna down and pat her on the back. “Now go play with grandpa and the dogs. I’ll be home in a few hours.” With that, Lyanna waved goodbye to Willas and ran off.

Willas held the door open for Sansa as they stepped outside into the cool evening breeze. “Does it have to be very, very nice? Or would you settle for just very nice?” he asked jokingly.

“I can’t imagine saying no to any question from you,” she replied with a sly smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Willas was somewhere over the Stepstones when Sansa went into labor. He knew it would be soon, but he had been hoping that he’d be back from Volantis by the time it happened. There were four voice messages from Margaery when he landed in Oldtown, and he didn’t have to open a single one to know what was going on. He rushed to his connecting flight and prayed the entire way there that nothing would go wrong. Sansa was still in labor by the time he got to the hospital. It had been six hours. Margaery was sitting in the waiting room with Lyanna.

“How is she?” Willas asked, picking up Lyanna and sitting her on his hip. She’d grown a lot in the last two years, but she was still light enough he could carry her.

Margaery grimaced. “I wouldn’t know. The doctors don’t exactly come out to give us regular updates.”

Willas knew that some labors lasted longer than others. He remembered Mother saying that Garlan had taken almost all night. But it didn’t soothe his nerves to think of Sansa going through this any longer than necessary.

“I can take Lyanna home now that you’re here,” Marg offered.

Lyanna leaned her head against Willas’s shoulder. “No, I want to stay.”

Willas looked over at his step-daughter. She wore a pout that she knew he couldn’t refuse. “Are you sure?” Lyanna nodded. “Alright, then. You can head out, Marg, I’ll be fine.”

Marg leaned up and kissed her brother on the cheek. “She’ll be fine, Willas. Don’t worry.”

Willas sighed, and then set Lyanna down on one of the chairs. Saying that she’d be fine wasn’t going to help. He shoved his hands into his pockets and began pacing. Lyanna watched him walk back and forth across the length of the waiting room for a minute before she slid down out of her chair. She walked next to him, mimicking his pacing.

“You hungry?” Willas asked. Lyanna looked up at him and nodded. He held out his hand for her to hold. “Come on, we’ll go down to the cafeteria and see what they have.

Hospitals always bothered Willas. He had spent a lot of time in one after his injury. It brought back unpleasant memories. The place smelled too sterile and it turned his stomach.

The cafeteria was nearly empty at this late in the evening. He picked out a sandwich for himself and one for Lyanna. They sat at a little table in the corner, Lyanna filling him in on all of her summertime adventures. Sometimes Willas marvelled at how lucky he was to have a little girl like her. At the wedding, Lyanna wasted no time inserting herself among the horde of Tyrell children. Her red hair stuck out amidst the sea of brown, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

On their way back up, they stopped by the nursery. Willas picked Lyanna up so that she could look in through the window at all of the newborns.

“Do you want a brother or a sister?” he asked.

“Sister,” she said.

Willas smiled. “You sound so sure.”

Lyanna looked him directly in the eye. “Boys are messy,” she said. “Theo and Lyonel are always dirty.” Well, she wasn’t wrong. Garlan’s twins were a handful. “I don’t want dirty.”

Gods, she was just like her mother. He rolled his eyes and set her down. “Come on, we should get back to the waiting room.”

“What about you?” she asked as she took his hand. “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

Willas thought for a moment. He wanted both eventually. Shrugging, he looked down at Lyanna. “I don’t know. I’d be happy either way.”

An hour after they had returned to the waiting room, Lyanna was passed out on the couch. He couldn’t blame her. As heavy as his eyes felt, his mind was still racing.

“Mr. Tyrell?” A doctor stood in front of him.

Willas stood, leaning heavily on his cane. “Yes? Is my wife alright?”

The doctor smiled. “Your wife is fine, she’s ready to see you.”

Willas breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He leaned down and gently shook Lyanna’s shoulder. “Time to go meet your little sibling.” That got her attention. Lyanna scrambled down from the couch, wide awake.

They had chosen to leave the gender a mystery. Sansa said it would be more exciting that way, but Willas didn’t argue. She was the pregnant one. He let Lyanna into the room first. Sansa looked rough, but he expected nothing less after how long she had worked.

“Oh, Willas, you made it,” Sansa said, reaching out with one hand as she looked down at the newborn in her arms. “Come see our daughter.”

A daughter. Willas hadn’t been hoping one way or the other, but he was happy to have another little girl. He stepped up to the bed and took the tiny child from Sansa’s arms.

“She’s wonderful,” he whispered.

“I was thinking Elinor would be nice,” Sansa said.

“Yes, Elinor is nice.” Willas was enthralled by the baby. _His_ baby. He looked down at Lyanna and smiled. “Do you want to hold your little sister?”

Lyanna nodded enthusiastically, letting to of Sansa’s hand to reach out.

“Sit on the chair, dear,” Sansa said.

Willas gently handed the newborn to Lyanna and then leaned against the bed, his fingers reaching out to intertwine with Sansa’s.

“Babies are ugly,” Lyanna said without missing a beat as she looked at her little sister. Willas chuckled. Lyanna was going to make a _great_ older sister.


End file.
